Brian S. Wong, whose preferred title is thus: “Hong Kong can advance AI beyond the confines of geopolitical rivalry”
As emerging markets chart their own destinies regarding artificial intelligence, the city can serve as a nexus for responsible governance
Despite persisting geopolitical instability and concerns over water availability, the Persian Gulf States are well-endowed to pursue data-intensive large language models and specialisation-oriented AI applications across energy, healthcare and education. India, France, South Korea and the United Kingdom have taken on the successive mantle of convening summits on global AI cooperation.
If Hong Kong is to remain relevant in the increasingly multiplex landscape, it must serve as a nexus of responsible AI governance for the global majority.
03:57….Hong Kong’s answer to using OpenClaw safely
The city cannot rest on its laurels. Singapore recently introduced a comprehensive agentic AI governance framework. It’s also investing heavily in research on how AI, public policy and law intersect. Yet Hong Kong possesses the advantages of proximity to cities such as Shenzhen and Hangzhou, two of the world’s leading technology hubs, and a dynamic private sector with a capital scale unrivalled in Asia.
Hong Kong may not replicate the world-class AI laboratories to its north or in Silicon Valley, but it can double down on what it does best. Hong Kong must consult industry experts, seasoned investors, multinational conglomerates, researchers and academics throughout Greater China to devise pertinent, internationally recognised benchmarks for AI regulation.
In implementing said regulations, the government should cultivate technocratic and regulatory partnerships with governments in emerging markets such as Asean, South Asia, the African Union, West and Central Asia and Latin America, inviting leading administrators and innovators for in-depth exchanges of knowledge.
As multilateral institutions providing global public goods come under growing strain, Hong Kong’s globally minded citizens and policy advocates must stand up and be counted. Former UN General Assembly president Vuk Jeremic noted Hong Kong’s potential to serve as an official regional hub for key UN organs in Asia.
Whether it’s the UN’s two new bodies on AI – the Global Dialogue on AI Governance or the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI – or potential AI governance organs of multilateral forums such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Brics and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Hong Kong is the perfect hosting site.
The city’s recent global conference featured AI experts from Tsinghua, Harvard and the University of Hong Kong, as well as public policy leaders from India, Singapore and Mongolia. Industry representatives from SenseTime and Alibaba spoke alongside key leaders in the Sino-American AI Track-2 dialogue.
Hong Kong’s convening power must be fully leveraged to focus on important, but overlooked issues such as how small language models can help preserve indigenous languages in underdeveloped economies or how China and Asean can forge common ground in AI safety.